Thursday, May 29, 2008

The Increasingly Central Suburbs

I was feeling peeved that they recently bulldozed the crappy minimarket just outside the gate, which was my preferred spot to buy beer. And then the day i saw they smashed it, i also learned...
that a subway station will be built right at my doorstep!

That will be sweet, since trekking into dntn is a bit cumbersome. Well, it's not that bad, but it is slow. Actually, now that i think about it, i kinda like the bus ride. You can look at things. You don't need to breathe subway air for 60 minutes. Anyhow, it's questionable whether the line will be open in time for H and i to use it.

BUT ALSO, they're making a mega mall, just 10 minutes walk away. This gargantuan 8 story complex will be the biggest capitalist experience in the entire district and it will surely include classic stores like G-Star Raw and Miss Sixty. Ok, i'm sorta taking the piss, but life will be more convenient in the future.

And here's a note on mall culture. In Canada i hate malls. Mall culture is dead culture. But in China, it's different. Here i largely dislike malls. Mall culture is usually dead culture. But take the Xidan shopping mall. It's a fucking behemoth zoo of tiny booths selling cheap and not so cheap stuff: knock off Gravis shoes, Astroboy outfits, and made in china plastic hipster knickknacks.

Also, if you want to buy western quality goods or eat western/internatinal food, you will inevitably end up mall-bound. Sorry, it can't be helped.

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